Tempus Edax Rerum
by KouenTaisa
Summary: Time, devourer of all things... of live, love, and happiness. A ChronoRosette story, spoilers for the end of the series. Mentions ChronoMagdelene
1. Prologue

Author: This story is written for all of my awesome friends. (Motcn and Nimblnypmh, as well as Sempai) This is just the prologue and chapter one is almost done. Spoilers if you haven't seen the end of the series I suppose.

Tempus Edax Rerum: Prologue  
Title means: Time, Devourer of all things

_  
You said, "I will always be with you, no matter where you are." But now I know... that you're not here any more._

Red eyes snapped onpen quickly as Chrono jerked awake. His dream hadn't been horrible in the least, but he would still call it a nightmare. He hadn't heard her voice since he'd saved Rosette. His love for Rosette had, in the end, encompassed **her **part of his heart.

So, why was he dreaming of her now? He was so close to having his happy ending with Rosette. Chrono deserved this little glimpse of happiness, didn't he? Had he been wrong for turning against Aion? Was it wrong that he'd carried Rosette away from the others?

All he wanted was their chance at happiness. Rosette couldn't have that if they faced the absolute truth. The truth that Joshua didn't remember them, and that Satella and Stiener were gone. Their whole world had been falling apart around them. Now, along with the dreams, Chrono had to face the fact that Rosette's time was limited, and in the end, so was his.

A sigh escaped him as he turned to look at Rosette, who was sleeping peacefully beside him. A soft smile graced his features for a second before he turned away from her. Rosette looked so much like Mary Magdalene. They both accepted him, even though they knew how it would eventually end.

_Why? Why does it have to be both of them? _he thought to himself. His love seemed to be a curse. Just like the contract that Rosette wore around her neck and Mary Magdalene had held in her hands. Did he bear such terrible sins? Was he so damned that no even those chosen by God could save him?

Another sigh exited Chrono as he turned away. He shouldn't be contemplating any of this in the first place. After all, he was a sinner. He may have been lacking the horns of a demon, but that did not change the blood that ran through his veins. Was he really condemned to a life full of mistakes and a death that was only half deserved?

Chrono honestly didn't know. What he did know was that he didn't have the answers to any of his questions. In fact, he didn't think that anyone did. During these moments in time, his thoughts would turn upon Father Remington and he wondered how he was doing or if Joshua had regained any of his memories. The latter would most likely never happen, since the accident had been so terrible.

"What am I doing?" he whispered softly to himself. He had absolutely no idea about what to do. For now, the dream was forgotten in the rush of new information that he had to accept. Everything in his life now depended on the small clock that rested around Rosette's neck.


	2. Chapter One

Tempus Edax Rerum: Chapter 1

_"Do you forget me so easily, Chorno? Do I no longer mean anything to you?"_

Chrono shook his head as he turned away from looking at the contract that lay on the table before him. He was still hearing her voice, both in his dreams and when he was awake. The voice was familiar, of course, but the words were unsettling. They man him question his own heart.

Did he truly love Rosette as much as he claimed? He did not consider her a shadow of Mary Magdalene. That was something he would never do. So what was it that was causing him to doubt his affection for her?

"Chrono?" her soft voice reached his ears, causing him to turn. A gentle smile graced his features as he looked into shining blue eyes. Her blonde hair was flowing down her back instead of being partly up, like she almost always had it.

"Sorry, Rosette. I was just thinking about something. I didn't mean to ignore you," he replied with a half smile. Rosette returned the gesture and walked over to him, picking up the contract from the table. For a moment, something sad flashed in her blue eyes as she touched the clock, but just as it was there in a single moment, it was gone.

"It's alright, Chrono. Are we working on the house today?" she asked with one of her soft looks. He nodded in reply, looking around the small, but homey, cabin.

It'd been abandoned when they had stumbled onto it, quite literally. Rosette immediately fell in love with it, which meant that he liked it too. This would be their home once they got it fixed up.

"Of course, Rosette. We have to have the roof fixed before it decides to rain," he stated. She only nodded in agreement, a familiar smirk gracing her features. The smirk was one that most people knew, especially if they knew Rosette. It was the one where she had an idea, a good idea for her, but a bad idea for most other people involved in it. In that moment, the old Rosette didn't seem so far away.

Chrono grumbled as he wondered how Rosette had talked him into this. The aforementioned girl stood below with a smirk as Chrono nailed the roof in place and fixed the leaks. She really hadn't done much of anything that day, except for watching him and a little bit of dusting. In truth, she felt bad for Chrono, but then she would hear him swear as he smashed a finger and she could only think of how glad she was that it wasn't her up there.

"How're ya doing up there, Chrono?" she called with another one of her smirks. She knew that he was at least getting a little ticked at her, if nothing else. Rosette heard the devil mumble something about 'idiotic woman' before he raised his voice.

"I'm almost done. Just a whole other side to finish!" he exclaimed in reply. Rosette honestly hadn't thought that Chrono could be that sarcastic. Oh well, it didn't really matter as long as he finished the roof before it started to rain.

"Father Remington?" Sister Claire called out as she entered the house. All was silent except for the closing of the door and her footsteps. For a moment, she wondered if anyone was even home before she heard the soft tones of music. Sister Claire continued to walk through the house, trying to find the source of the music.

Sister Claire stopped at the end of the hallway, turning when she noticed the door that was cracked open a little. Being as quiet as she could, she walked over to the door and looked in to see Father Remington sitting at a table with papers sprayed out in front of him. To his left Joshua Christopher sat, doodling on some extra paper that had been given to him.

"Father Remington?" she called out once again, a little louder than before. The man sitting at the table turned to her quickly, offering up one of his half-smiles. Sister Claire could tell that something was bothering him, she just didn't know what.

"Oh, Sister Claire. It's so nice to see you again. How is everyone?" he asked with the same smile in place. It was a smile that she'd seen so many times, but for some reason it seemed off in this setting... at this time in their lives.

"Everyone is fine, Father Remington. How are you and Joshua doing?" she replied with her own look. Ewan just nodded his head lightly, turning back to the papers in front of him.

"We're getting along fine, I suppose. You do know though, that you don't have to keep calling me Father Remington anymore. I quit the Order, remember?" he asked with a small chuckle. Sister Claire nodded her head in understanding, still getting used to the fact that Father- _Ewan_, wasn't in the Order any longer. Apparently taking care of Joshua consumed most of his time now a days. Suddenly, the words were out before Claire had even thought about saying them.

"Rosette would be happy... to know that you're taking care of Joshua for her." she stated softly. Ewan nodded his head, standing up with a sigh. They'd looked for a little while, but eventually other things started to pile up and searching for Chrono and Rosette was no longer possible. So now all they did was wait... wait for when the duo would once again show up at the door to the Magdelene Order, ready to go back to hunting demons like they had before everything had started to come crashing down around them.

_I can only hope..._ he thought to himself as he turned to look back at Claire. She offered him a smile, walking into the room and looking over at Joshua. The young boy still hadn't noticed that someone else was in the room besides himself and Remington. It was sad really, that he couldn't remember anything that had happened, but maybe it was a blessing that he was unable to remember the pain that he had caused his sister and friend.

Author: Yay! Another chapter out there for my friends (and my awesome reviewers). Chapter two is in the workings, so hopefully it won't take long. Constructive critism is welcome!


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